-->Dow CEO: US should declare national emergency on NG
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Dow Chemical CEO: US should declare national emergency on NG supplies

by Reuters


Shortages may develop for plastic milk and detergent bottles, automobile
tires, disposable diaper liners and bread bags because of high natural
gas prices and hurricane-hit chemical plants, the head of Dow Chemical
Co. said on Thursday.

Most chemical plants in the US Gulf Coast are closed or operating at
reduced rates since Hurricane Rita hit the Texas-Louisiana border on
Sept. 24, Andrew Liveris, chief executive officer of Dow Chemical, told
the Senate Energy Committee. He testified at a hearing on hurricane
damage to energy production, processing and transportation.

The US government should help repair damaged natural gas processing
plants and declare a"national emergency" to make consumers aware of
supply problems triggered by the storms, Liveris said.

"Soon the loss of chemical manufacturing in the Gulf will ripple through
the economy in the form of shortages and higher prices," Liveris said.
Some of the products that may develop shortages include widely used
consumer goods such as plastic bottles and bags, he said.

"The short-term outlook for natural gas consumers is grim," he said."If
prices remain at or near current levels, manufacturers will be driven
out of the market and many may not return."

Natural gas, a crucial raw material for chemical plants, soared to a
record high of $14.75 per million British thermal units in futures
trading on Wednesday. Prices fell on Thursday, to around $13.69 per
million Btus in midday trading.

The government should dispatch the Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers
and other federal experts to help repair damaged gas processing plants
on the Louisiana coast, which purify natural gas before it can be
shipped in pipelines, he said.

The Energy Information Administration said 21 processing plants are
closed, half due to lack of electricity and half due to hurricane damage.

"Help is needed to transport and house repair crews, pump out the
plants, restore power, repair damages and resume operations," Liveris said.

The government should also"declare a national emergency" to shock
consumers into awareness of tight supplies, he said.

For example, if all Americans turned down their home thermostats by 2
degrees this winter, an extra 3 billion cubic feet per day of gas would
be available, Liveris said.

Liveris also testified on behalf of the American Chemistry Council,
which has urged Congress to open more offshore areas to drilling,
including a controversial area off Florida known as Lease 181.